


Sunsets

by rained



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-12-07
Packaged: 2018-02-24 16:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 5,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2588288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rained/pseuds/rained
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of one shots/drabbles detailing the life of Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto. Generally does not follow the canon storyline pertaining to post chapter 699 developments.</p><p>Newest Chapter: Breakdown - When you lose control.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sparks

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first story! It takes place after 700. So for all intensive purposes, this one does follow the canon story to a point.

It was hard to conceptualize. They had been apart for a long time. They were no longer team 7. They were Naruto and Sakura. Unfortunately, this didn’t stop it from happening.

Whether it was at a ramen bar or at a meeting of village officials, she noticed his eyes on her. As he swept through the hospital on a normal inspection, he felt her eyes burning through the back of his head. 

When she came to drop off papers relating to a new medical building being built, their hands brushed.

Breaths caught.

Eyes sparkled.

Flames ignited. 

Sparks flew.


	2. Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto and Sakura let their passion take over. Somewhat explicit.

Sakura had felt empty since the war had ended. Sasuke had left on his mission of redemption, and everything had just fit together too perfectly. Not to mention that her thoughts still gravitated towards a certain yellow-haired hero…

She sat at her dinner table, grasping the glass of water in her hand tighter with each passing moment. She just felt so anxious. What was her purpose? She felt utterly useless. She knew she would have a job at the hospital, but would she be just happy with that? Or would she want more? A knock at the door disrupted her from the mental anguish plaguing her entire psyche.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto’s voice reverberated through her empty house.

"Naruto….come in." 

He looked at her, almost perplexed by the indifferent greeting.

"Sakura-chan, what’s wrong? You look out of it."

"Naruto, to tell you the truth, I am. I just don’t feel good."

"Is it Sasuke? It’s Sasuke isn’t it?"

"Naruto…no it isn’t. It’s hasn’t been about him for a while. He doesn’t cause this empty feeling inside of me anymore. I don’t know what it is. Do you ever feel that way? That you need something so badly that you feel as if your heart will break if you don’t get it?"

Naruto steadied himself. “Yeah…I get that.”

Their eyes met then. Her emerald ones staring deep into his blues. She inched forward. Their lips centimeters apart. She had realized what had been causing the feeling. This utterly depressing feeling that wouldn’t leave her.

“Do it.” Her voice was stern yet calm and inviting.

He leaped at the opportunity and captured her lips in a rapid attack that left her breathless. Pushing her against the wall, his hands reached under her skirt and gripped her ass.

“Naruto,” she moaned into his ear. He trailed kisses along her neck as her hands raked his hair.

He suddenly grabbed her legs and raised her up, taking her in the direction of the bedroom. As he laid her down, he took off his shirt. Sakura’s hands naturally ran themselves up and down his chest as his eyes closed and he let out a pleasurable sigh.

"I need this," he said.

"I do too."


	3. Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post 699.

Naruto and Sakura stood on top of the Hokage Monument. The war had ended. All that was left was the two of them standing there, under a dark sky lit up by a multitude of stars.

They talked about future plans. What they could do now instead of trying to save the world. Maybe now they could try to save themselves? Salvage what was left of their youth. They laughed. What did the future hold after all?

As they sat down next to each other, she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Life was definitely not all it was chalked up to be.

But she at least had him in the end. As he grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, he knew he had her as well.


	4. Rocky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura and Naruto have a discussion about their situation after the events of Chapter 700.

Sakura peeked inside the room one last time, she needed to make sure Sarada was asleep. Reassured, she walked downstairs and sat at her dinner table. This was not what she envisioned when she thought about her life after the war.

Just then, a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. It was none other than the yellow haired hero.

"Oh Hokage-sama, what brings you here at this hour?"

Naruto looked at her quizzically, “Hokage-sama? Come on Sakura-chan.” 

She chuckled in response and let him in.

"Green tea?" she asked as she grabbed a nearby thermos. 

"Yeah sure," he responded, sitting down and tapping his fingers on the table.

"So what’s up? You usually don’t just show up here out of the blue."

Naruto tensed. “I just wanted to come and check up on you. He’s still not back is he…”

"When is he ever back?” She remarked, her mood becoming noticeably more darker with the mention of Sasuke.

"I’ve actually asked a few squads to go and look for him, no word back yet."

"Naruto, he’s literally the master of hiding, he hid from us for years…he’s good at it by now."

He frowned. “I’m trying to help Sakura-chan.”

She slammed her fist down on the table. “Naruto, it isn’t helping!” She put more emphasis in that phrase than he wanted to hear. 

Before he could respond, she continued, “Sarada is going to grow up without a father in her life, I swear to god. Sasuke is trying to raise a child who barely knows that he exists. He’s being selfish and self-centered. Then again…it’s not like we didn’t know that.”

"He’ll be back soon, I know it." I hope, Naruto thought. “Well not everything is peachy on my side either.”

"Isn’t Hinata like an angel reincarnate?" She paused. "That came off a bit more bitter than I intended."

Naruto brushed it off. “I think we rushed into this a bit too quickly. Sometimes I realize how different our personalities really are. It’s almost jarring at times.”

"Naruto, you have to work at it. She’s pretty shy."

"We have worked on it, a lot, it just…isn’t working. But you can’t have the Hokage going to marriage counseling or even divorce his wife, what kind of an image does that portray?”

"Why do you care so much?"

"Sakura-chan, I have to care-"

"You’ve cared too much your entire life. You’ve cared about what others think of you. What others want. What others want from you. You’re never self-centered, you’re people-centered. Get it through your thickhead. You’re not happy right now are you?”

"I haven’t been happy in a long time Sakura-chan."

"When was the last time you really were?"

"When I was with you."

Sakura’s breath hitched. She stared into his blue eyes for what felt like an eternity. 

"I want to say I’m lying Sakura, I really do-"

"I know you’re not. Maybe the sad thing about all of this is that I feel the same way."

"Sakura-chan…where did we go wrong?"

"It was when we stopped realizing we had each other."


	5. Ramen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura discovers something about her son.

Sakura’s bed felt cold. _Really cold_. Naruto had to leave the village for a few days due to a political meeting, which left her feeling lonely, to say the least.

The clock in the room read 7:00 A.M. She didn’t have work today, she was staying home with Shinachiku. She smiled, thinking of her three year old sleeping in his tiny bed. Speaking of him…

"Mommy!" he ran through the door and jumped on the bed.

In response she grabbed him and took him under the covers, tickling him until he cried from laughter. After he quieted down he looked at his mother with excitement.

"Are you that happy to see me Chiku? Or is something else on your mind?"

"Ramen!"

 _Ramen_ , Sakura thought, now she was perplexed. She made absolutely sure not to give him any ramen, she didn’t want her son to grow up being the biggest container of sodium around. Not like that stopped her husband…but still.

"Where did you have ramen?" She asked.

The little one rubbed his chin. “Uhh…daddy took me one day! He said it was the healthiest…and yummiest! I think he was right…”

 _Naruto! That little_. She knew he would do this. She would take care of him when returned home.

Just then, an idea popped into her head. If she could just find an alternative food that Chiku liked just as much, she could ween him off ramen!

Day 1

Penne pasta with seasoned chicken was a classic, and as far as she knew, Chiku liked both pasta and chicken.

"Mommy…this is yummy…but is there any of that..liquid thingy?"

 _Ugh he wants broth_.

Day 2

Chicken noodle soup, but a low sodium variant, this would do the trick!

"I really miss those long thin noodles at Ichiraku.."

 _This kid is gonna be the death of me_.

Day 3

She was determined to find something in her recipe book today. Something that would break this ramen spell over her son. Sushi maybe? As she went in to check on him though, he wasn’t there.

 _Where is he_?! She panicked. She had never lost him. Bursting through the front door, she tried to search for him in nearby buildings, missing the note sitting on the table.

She eventually did find Chiku…sitting at IchiRaku Ramen bar…with his father.

"Sakura-chan! I didn’t want to wake you. Chiku asked me for ramen and I thought we could bond a bit!"

"Naruto..you know what I said…"

"I know, I know! But here take a bite! I think grandpa here changed his broth recipe. It tastes even better!" Before she could respond, he stuffed a chopstick containing a good amount of noodles into her mouth.

She had to admit, it was pretty delicious. 

As the family left the ramen bar, Sakura slid next to Ayame.

"Er…can I get a bowl to go?"

She had to admit, as she sighed in frustration, _ramen is pretty great_.


	6. Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto has a question for Sakura

Her shift had just ended. It had been the longest 12 hours of her life. A new flu virus was spreading around the village, and it seems that most still didn’t know the basic of flu prevention. Injection after injection, prescription after prescription…she was beat.

As she packed her purse so that she could head home, one of the assistant nurses burst into the room.

"Ah Sakura! The Hokage wants to meet with you immediately. He said to see him on top of the Hokage Residence."

She groaned, they didn’t have a date tonight, what could it be? _If she was going to show him something stupid, she was going to kill him._

As she jumped from building to building she noticed something very different about the Hokage residence. The roof was very bright. _Like very bright._

When she neared, she realized that it was full of candles. Naruto stood in the center.

"Naruto, you better not have called me here to show me all these candles that you probably got Sasuke to light."

"Sakura-chan! I lit these all myself!" He had to remember to thank Sasuke for lighting these. _Hehe_.

"So what’s up? I wanted to go home, shower, and sleep, it’s been a long day," she said while rubbing her sore neck. 

"I just wanted to talk to you about something."

He seemed serious. She was slightly worried.

"Something? Like what Naruto?"

"Sakura-chan…you love me right?"

"Naruto, of course _I love you_. You don’t have to ever doubt that.”

Naruto walked over to her, closing the gap between.

"Why do you love me?"

Sakura looked at him inquisitively. It’s a good question. After everything that they went through, she would have been crazy not to be in love with him. She had never thought too hard about the reasoning behind it.

"You showed me…the world in the way that I really want to see it. You showed me that people can have a big heart, even if they have a small brain," Naruto laughed, "and that people don’t break promises."

She moved so that her hands were on the sides of his face. “Your voice, your silly face, your golden hair, your ridiculous orange outfits, your blue eyes, your…resolve. They are all things I love and adore.”

Naruto tried to hide any tears that formed before responding.

"Sakura-chan…your forehead is pretty nice, that might be the only thing you have going for yo-" She smacked him over the head before he could recoil in laughter.

She couldn’t help but crack a smile.

He continued. “I’ve been alone a lot of my life, but as I grew up, I discovered I had more friends than I imagined. I felt a surge of happiness whenever they were around me. With you….it’s different.”

Her eyes never left his.

"You make me feel like I don’t have a worry in the world. You make me feel _invincible_. The jutsus…the techniques…none of it compares to when I’m with you.”

 _I must have been really lucky to get someone like him_ , she thought.

"But seriously Sakura…your emerald eyes, your bright pink hair, _your punches_ …I couldn’t live without them.

He got down on one knee.

"So don’t make me. Will you marry me Sakura-chan?"

Sakura was crying a little bit. _Just a little bit_. 

"Yes…you idiot." They embraced and you could hear Naruto’s scream of joy throughout the village.

In the Hokage’s office, Tsunade and Shizune stood with smiles on their faces.

"It went well I assume?" The assistant remarked.

"Seems so…god those brats are going to have kids now aren’t they?"


	7. Closure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who knew you could dislike a word so much?

Naruto was getting married to Hinata tomorrow. 

But he knew there was something he needed to do before he took the plunge. He just needed to hear it with his own ears.

He met Sakura at midnight, the streets were nearly dark and empty. A true ghost town.

"Shouldn’t you be getting some rest Naruto? Big day tomorrow."

"Ah I’ll be fine Sakura-chan, I just wanted to talk."

"Sure, what’s up?"

"It’s been a while since we had a heart to heart hasn’t it Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah…a few years maybe?" After the war, they had drifted apart. It was to be expected, they had different priorities and different people to care about.

"Sakura-chan…tell me the truth…"

She looked at him. 

"Did you ever love me? _In that way_." The more he saw her with other guys around the village, the more it gnawed at him to know the truth. He just needed it…

She tensed. Her eyes widened. Everything was still around them. _Too still_.

"Yes."

Naruto was not expecting that. She was supposed to say no. She was _supposed to_. ”Why…how….why didn’t you tell me?!”

"Why didn’t you Naruto?! Did you think I was still in love with Sasuke? After all these years, didn’t you realize that my feelings would have changed? A stupid poke on the forehead doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t measure up to what we went through. I mean he physically hurt me. He put me through a mental rollercoaster. How could I ever romantically engage with someone like that!"

He was speechless. What was he supposed to say? He always had a glimmer of hope that her feelings would change, but he never imagined this.

She walked up to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before he could even react.

"Before you ask Naruto…I’m not going to tell you if I’m still in love with you. This is the end. This is _closure_.” Sakura knew she couldn’t confess to Naruto here, right now, the day before his wedding. 

As she walked away he balled his fists in anger. He didn’t see the tears rolling down her face.

Closure. He always hated that word.


	8. Drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto has a bit too much to drink.

A year after the war, and Sakura was still waiting.

Why hadn’t Naruto asked her out on a date yet?!

Was something wrong?

She had to know.

A new bar had opened up in the village and the opening ceremony was a huge party. Far too many bottles of sake were passed around. While Sakura refused to drink (she had a shift in the morning), Naruto accepted bottle after bottle.

Maybe too many bottles.

"Sakura-chan! What’s up!" He asked, putting his arm around her. Sakura could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Naruto…lighten up a bit on the drinks there."

"Sakura-chan I need this. It’s been a hard day, hell, a hard week…month…maybe _year_?”

Sakura was confused. “What are you talking about?” He had been undergoing some secondary training, but nothing too difficult from what she understood.

“ _You_ ," he answered, poking her on the shoulder.

"What have I done?"

"Sakura-chan, why don’t you like me? I’ve liked you for soooooooooooooo long."

 _God he is really drunk now_ , Sakura thought as she took his arm off her shoulder and stood him up. 

"Let’s get you home before you say something you regret."

"Why are you always ruining the fun Sakura-channnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn."

"Shut up you idiot." Dragging him out of the bar against his will was no easy task. Naruto sure had some bullish strength. 

As she walked him to his house, their hands were constantly linked.

"Sakura-chan, I want to do this more often."

"Do what?"

"Hold your hand! You have soft hands."

"You’re weird Naruto, stop talking." He didn’t notice the blush on her cheeks. She dragged his hand as she sped to his house.

As they entered his home, Naruto nearly tripped onto his table head first.

"Ugh the things I have to do for you," she sighed as she led him into the bedroom. He promptly fell down. The probably was, he dragged her with him.

"Naruto!"

"Sakura-chan…" His arms were around her waist. _I don’t hate it...but wait that’s not the point!_ Naruto cut her off before she could say anything, “I’m so in love with you…and I can never tell you. I’m afraid that you won’t love me back. I’m afraid I’ll look like an idiot. I’m just… _afraidlittle_ drunk. 

Sakura put both of her hands on either side of his head. She slowly lowered herself until she kissed him gently on the lips.

"Next time, don’t be afraid. You haven’t been afraid of anything for a long time Naruto. And you never have to be afraid of me either."

Naruto sighed happily. Slowly but surely, his eyes started closing and his grip on Sakura loosened. 

As she pulled the sheets around him, she kissed him on the forehead.

"I promise our first kiss, our first _sober_ kiss, will be a lot better, Naruto.”

Before she left, she put a glass of water and some aspirin on the nightstand, he’d need it.


	9. Paint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was his color.

When he was a child, his bright blond hair stood out.

No one was quite like him.

 _Unique_ was one way to put it.

Yet, throughout life, he embraced that uniqueness. 

One day during class the teacher asked the students to mix two colors of their liking. The goal was to see how things _combine_ , how they _mesh_ together, and how things can be accomplished with the proper _fluidity_ and _cooperation_. 

The boy picked yellow and pink.

Pink? The teacher asked. He remarked that most other boys picked blue and red, or red and black, but he did not see a single one pick pink.

The blond boy replied that he liked pink because it felt like a _soft_ color to him. 

What he really wanted to say was that the girl with pink hair had caught his eye from the first time he laid eyes on her. 

The girl in question mixed black and pink.

The boy always remembered that colors were dynamic, so he didn’t lose hope.

As he grew older, the mixture of yellow and pink become more and more common place. 

To him, pink became confidence and reason.

To her, yellow become reassuring and capable. 

The two complimented each other perfectly.

Others, of course, tried to disrupt this harmony, whether it was purple or black, none of them held the same bond that pink and yellow did.

The boy always knew what the combination of pink and yellow was.

A light orange.

_Orange was definitely his color._


	10. Body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moments like these are perfect.

They both were lying in bed.

The early morning sunlight sifted through the wooden blinds.

There were no clothes, only sheets and bodies.

She woke up first, she always did. Her green eyes were welcome to the sight of her husband, yellow hair and all, sleeping like a baby.

She smiled gently as she carefully trailed her fingers along his cheek. He was always such an idiot when was awake. He was so hard-headed. He yelled too much. He had too much energy for her at times.

Yet now, in this single moment, she loved how he had slowed down. Naruto always ran. He always rushed. He is the type of person who wants to get to the center of a problem, and get there quickly. She likes thinking rationally. Maybe that’s why they compliment each other so perfectly. But now, he seemed like nothing in the world could disturb him. He was moving at a snail’s pace.

"You’re a stupid fool," she said as she placed a kiss on his cheek. "But my fool," she said as she was about to get out of bed.

Suddenly she felt his arm wrap around her waist and pull her close.

"So tell me why you married a stupid fool then," he said with a smile, his eyes still closed. 

She snuggled into his embrace.

"I’m stupid too," she whispered. It was said in such a way that it sent shivers down his spine. 

He finally opened his eyes and looked down at her.

"I love that we can be stupid together, Sakura-chan."

As their bodies lie there, legs were tangled, kisses exchanged, and smiles given.

Neither of them ever wanted to leave.


	11. Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too good to be true.

He stood there, in a field of tall green grass. The smell of flowers in the air and the bright sunshine brought a smile to his face.

She kept it there.

The pink haired woman stood there, her hands behind her back, facing away from him.

"Sakura-chan…"

She turned around, and she seemed so much more _beautiful_ than he remembered. He definitely didn’t need the sun when she was here, she brightened up his world.

"Mind coming along?" She asked, holding out her hand. Before Naruto could even realize it, he was running over, reaching his own out. She grabbed it and dragged him along.

He forgot how soft her hands were. How _delicate_ they felt.

She eventually took him to a small cliff. He had to position himself a little bit to see the flower beds that sat beneath them.

"It’s beautiful isn’t it Naruto?"

"Sakura-chan it’s amazing…"

He looked from the flowers to the woman next to him. Their eyes met and he leaned in, getting ready to kiss her with all of the love he felt for her.

 _Darkness_.

He woke up, moisture on his face. He was breathing very hard. Too hard.

Hinata rustled next to him. “Everything okay?”

"Yeah….yeah, don’t worry about it."

He turned away from her.

The tears that had been falling down his face slowly receded. His love for Sakura never did.


	12. Complete

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They take a step towards each other so that they can feel alive.

Naruto sat back in his chair.

He never thought, not in a thousand years, that he would be going through a divorce.

Especially with her of all people

Hinata was nice and caring, and was an exceptional mother. But something just didn’t _click_ between them. He wasn’t sure what it was, and neither did she. He should have broke it off earlier, but he felt an obligation to Bolt and Himawari. 

The door to his office and a familiar face entered.

"Am I interrupting something?" Sakura said, knowing that she would stay regardless of his answer.

"No, no, it’s nothing. Long time no see Sakura-chan!"

"I know right," she said wearily as she sat down in a nearby chair, "it seems being the head medic and hokage wears us down in our old age huh?"

Naruto laughed in response, “Yeah I guess it does,” She could tell something was wrong.

"What’s up?"

She could always read him. He hated it, but loved it at the same time.

"Hinata and I…our divorce finally got finalized. We knew about it for months, but it’s set in stone now." Sakura stared at him without moving a muscle. He continued, "Luckily the kids are out of town on missions. Have to tell them when they come back."

Sakura leaned back in her chair. “I’ve been there.” Her and Sasuke had divorced a few years prior. He was never around, and she felt like he had no reason to call her his wife, and he her husband. It just wasn’t working.

"Sarada accepted it in my case, in fact, I think she was pushing for it for the longest time. It’s funny because after we brought Sasuke back, you would have thought he would have stopped being an outcast, but it seems like he became an even larger one."

"Sakura-chan, I’m sorry…"

"Naruto, you don’t have to apologize. He does. Yet, a part of me doesn’t even want him to. Everything he gives me feels like he is doing it out of pity. Did he love me out of pity too? Hell, I don’t even know if he loves me. What kind of a relationship is that?" She looked at the ceiling, as if it was going to burst open and give her all the answers.

He looked down at his papers. Pretending to distance himself from the situation. 

"I think…I might know what the feels like," he sheepishly admitted. "When I look at Hinata, I see someone who loves me more than I could ever love her. I wanted to make her happy, so I dated her, got married, had kids…but I always questioned something."

Sakura looked back down at Naruto.

"Was I happy, Sakura-chan? Was I satisfied? Did I feel _complete_?”

“ _It never felt that way_ ,” both of them said in unison.

Both of them stood up and slowly walked to each other.

 _Click_.

Naruto grabbed both of her hands.

"Why couldn’t have we done the right thing?" she whispered.

"We did do the right thing, the right thing for those around us," he responded. 

Tears streamed down her face. His fingers brushed them away and he gently kissed her on the lips. Before she realized what was happening, she deepened it.

"Do you feel complete now, Sakura-chan?"

"For the first time, _yes_.”


	13. Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura has to tell Naruto a certain something...

Sakura paced nervously around the kitchen. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

She sat down. He’d be home any minute.

"Ughhhh," she groaned as she set her head on the table.

Naruto walked inside and saw his wife dejectedly looking at him.

"Well hi to you too, Sakura-chan," he said as he walked over to give her a kiss on the forehead. He then turned around to get some instant ramen from the pantry.

"Naruto-kun…" 

He winced as he walked back out into the kitchen. “Ewww why are you adding kun, is something wrong?”

"Hmm…" she mumbled as she walked over. She walked over and put her hands on both sides of his face. She’ll try to rip the band-aid off fast.

"I’m pregnant."

He dropped the ramen container he was holding.

Sakura knew that hadn’t exactly planned for it. She had forgotten to take the pill and the condom he used wasn’t the most effective. They were married yes, but they had never discussed kids too seriously.

"Sakura-chan…SAKURA-CHAN!" He screamed as he picked her up and twirled her around. 

"I love you, I love you, I love you," he whispered as he peppered her with kisses. 

Sakura could only laugh in response.

"You’re not mad?"

"Sakura-chan…of course not, I’ve always imagined having kids with you, for as long as I can remember! Maybe one with pink hair and my blue eyes, then another one blond one with green eyes, my whiskers too.." he trailed off before he realized that perhaps he had said too much.

Sakura was still in his arms as her eyes widened. “You really thought about all of that?”

"Yes…." he said, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

She reached up to kiss him on the cheek.

"God you’re an idiot."

Only his cheeky smile greeted her in response.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes we all breakdown a little.

Sakura stood in her kitchen, the envelope sitting on the table in front of her. Her small apartment seemed eerily quiet. It had been 3 years since the war ended and she was doing just fine: head medical ninja, good pay, respected throughout the village, everything was fine.

Things just hadn’t worked with Sasuke. She wasn’t romantically interested in him anymore, and she didn’t want to force herself to be after all this time. She had changed.

The other man in her life…Naruto…that was a bit more complicated.

She thought she could sort out her feelings for him and tell him after the war. The problem was, someone beat him to it. Hinata and him had started dating only a few weeks after the war had ceased.

And now a wedding invitation was lying on her table.

 _Ugh_ , she thought as she raked her hand through her pink hair. She used her callused fingers to rip the seal and open the invitation. 2 months from now. 

_I will be prepared, I can do it, it’ll be no big deal!_

She thought that would be the case, her tears in the days following didn’t seem to agree with her.

**2 months later**

A simple blue dress that accentuated the figure she had, while bringing out the color in her now very long pink hair and emerald eyes.

As she sat down in the chapel her heart beat very fast. She probably wasn’t ready, but she was good at acting like she was. 

Ino sat next to her, “You okay?”

"Yeah I’m great, no worries!" She said, almost putting on too fake of a smile. Ino grabbed her hand, she understood. 

Vows were spoken, rings exchanged, kisses given.

When the priest had asked if anyone had any objections, Sakura had the greatest urge to stand up and scream that she loved this stupid boy, that she loved him for so many years.

But like all of these years, she never had the courage to do anything about it. 

As the ceremony ended, she rushed out of the chapel before anyone could notice. Tears streamed down her face as she entered her apartment and slid down against the door.

"Naruto…you loved me for so long. Why was I so stupid? Why was I so stubborn…"

"Why didn’t I fight for you?"

Back at the wedding, the reception had started. As Naruto rounded the tables he met with Ino.

"Where’s Sakura-chan?"

Ino hesitated, “Oh…she had an emergency at the hospital and had to leave, she told me to give her regards, she’s so happy for you.”

"Tell her I said thanks!" Naruto said, with that trademark smile of his. Yet, at that moment, Ino swear she saw a quick glimpse of disappointment in his eyes.

Maybe she was just imagining things.


End file.
